Sorry
by Jamie am I
Summary: Aunt Josephine feels sorry for what she did to the children.Rated for death


Disclaimer: I do not own "A Series of Unfortunate Events." All characters and locations belong to Lemony Snicket.

* * *

On the sandy shores of Briny Beach, a woman lay huddled with her legs drawn up to her chest, tears flowing down her pale cheeks. She could feel the sand starting to stick to her black dress, and normally, being the proper woman she was, she would brush off every trace of it. But she wasn't the same woman that she normally was right now.

She was a tired and pitiful old woman who had just swam miles away from her home and her children. Of course they weren't her children, but they were the children of a close friend whom she had promised she would protect the children should said friend die. But the woman currently lying on the shore did not uphold a promise, for once in her life. She had abandoned the children, surrendered them to a horrible man in return for her own life, which the man tried to end anyway. She had swam miles and miles trying to escape the leeches and the guilt of the three children stranded in the lifeboat with the most horrid and despicable man on the face of the planet.

…

But right now, she'd be grateful to be dead at the bottom of the lake where she'd started.

The woman's lips softly parted as she mumbled something under her dried breath. It was so quiet and sorrowful, that one would have to hold a amplified microphone to her mouth just to _try _and hear what she was saying.

The woman muttered the same thing again, this time louder. Though one could only know they were the same words if they had watched the gentle movement of her lips.

"Vullot… claws… sony…"

The woman repeated the words again, louder.

"Vilut…. klouz… sunni…"

The woman repeated the words once more, this time decipherable.

"Violet… Klaus… Sunny…"

The woman shut her eyes tight as tears formed in tiny beads at the edges of her bespectacled eyes. They flowed freely down her face and dripped into the sand beneath her, leaving barely visible specks in it. The tears disappeared beneath more tears as she lifted herself up on her elbow, running her bony fingers through her large graying bun of light blond hair. She inhaled deeply as she wiped away her tears, looking out at the sea. A heavy fog that she only just noticed hovered what seemed to be mere inches above her, blocking the sun so that she could determine what time it was. She could just barely make out a small reddish speck through the sea of fog, telling her it was close to dawn.

She whimpered at the colored speck, the color of it reminding her of the sickening color of fresh blood. She felt more tears start to roll down her cheeks as she imagined what that horrible man could be doing to the children at this very moment. For all she knew as she sat there alive, the children whom she had had in her company for only a few days could already be dead.

Thinking suddenly of the children, the woman suddenly dug her hand back into her bun, her hand tightening around a firm object. She pulled the object from the forest of damp tangles, the speck of sun barely making it shine as she brought it into her lap.

"Beatrice…" The woman muttered under her breath just as she had muttered the names of the children. She held in her hand an authentic gold spyglass, damp from the ocean's waters, that felt as though it weighed a ton in her withered hands. She held it close to her heart as she recalled dear Beatrice, her friend from over 20 years ago, before she had even become pregnant with Violet. She recalled when they had spent long nights up together in Josephine's house, like a pair of giddy schoolgirls who had known each other since birth. And now, she felt more distant from her decease friend than when she'd heard of her death in the first place.

The woman let a choked sob escape her lips. She buried her face in her hands and didn't even bother to stop the tears from flowing this time. She let them fall onto the shore and her dress, not caring what happened to her or the dress at the moment, but the children.

"Violet… Klaus… Sunny…" She muttered again. She sighed deeply as she parted her hair, and was about to put the spyglass back in the hollow of her tight bun when she felt something sharp poke her outer thigh. She looked down into the sand. A blue fountain pen was lying on its side against her thigh, the sharp end stuck into the small tear in her dress, creating a small blue stain.

The woman looked down at the pen, her eyes suddenly brightening. She recognized it. She took the pen in her hands and turned it, looking for something she hope was there. It was. On one side of the pen, the initials I.A. were inscribed in beautiful silvery letters.

"Ike…" The woman muttered. She held the pen to her soft cheek and closed her eyes, as though she was savoring the touch of the pen. She looked back down beside her and her eyes brightened again. It was as though the Lord in Heaven above was helping her, and only her at this very moment. Because right next to her in the sand, was a light blue envelope that had already been marked with a postage stamp, the address originally written on it worn off from the sea's waters.

"Thank you!" The woman screamed towards the sky. She clasped her hands together and mouthed 'thank you' the sky over and over until she reminded herself of the envelope and pen. She picked both things up and placed them in her lap, smiling down at them. She smiled even more when she realized there was a parchment inside the envelope; it too was washed of the message that had been written on it before it somehow ended up in the ocean.

She smoothed the slightly wrinkled paper out on her damp lap, brushing the sand off of it before she placed the tip of the pen on it. She moved the pen around the paper, writing something that she hoped that the children would see eventually. She felt energy rising in her as she wrote, her life seeming much brighter all of a sudden. She let out a joyous cry as she finally finished the letter and shoved it in the envelope. She then used the pen to write down the address of the place she remembered the children were to be sent if she was an unfit guardian to them and sealed it.

The woman placed the letter back into the sand, quickly putting it out of her mind as she looked around the beach for even the slightest bit of food. She greedily grabbed out at a sand-covered lollipop that lay a few feet away and stuck it in her mouth. She bit hard into the cherry flavored sweet, smiling as she felt it slide down her throat. She took what remained of the lollipop and spread its sticky coating over the front of her dress, glad when she smelled the strong scent of cherry fill her nostrils. She was ready.

The woman then got to her feet, and quickly dashed towards the ocean. She could see multiple small figures snapping at her as she jumped into the air and dove straight into the water. She nearly cried, with tears of joy, when she suddenly felt the leeches bite through her dress and into the flesh beneath it as they swarmed. She could just barely see her blood rising through the water in front of her through her glasses, staining the water red. She reached up a hand that broke the water's surface and flailed it about in a 'goodbye' signal. She felt herself growing lighter and lighter as the leeches continued to devour her, yet she still waved her hand about.

Her shaking stopped however when one leech dug its sharp teeth into her jugular vein and grabbed at her neck. She winced from the pain as the ocean seemed to grow black, her eyes drooping as she started to fall to the bottom of the ocean floor. Before the blackness overcame her and she passed out and away, she thought she heard something that sounded remarkably like the children calling out for her. But perhaps, it was just an old widow's imagination.

* * *

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire sat with their backs against a large metal machine as they unwrapped the small sticks of gum they'd received as their lunch. Their life here at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill was horrible, from the food to the labor they had to endure.

"Violet?" Klaus asked his older sister as he halfheartedly tossed aside his stick of gum.

Violet turned her head towards him, her raven black hair falling in front of her tired eyes. "Yes, Klaus?"

"What do you think ever happened to Aunt Josephine?" he asked as he recalled the last guardian they'd been placed in care of. They hadn't seen or heard of her since Count Olaf, a horrible, horrible man had thrown her to the Lachrymose Leeches almost a week ago.

Violet looked at Klaus, dejectedly, and covered his hand with her own. "Klaus, I think we both know. There was no way that she could've escaped… you know."

"Well, _maybe _she lived," Klaus pleaded. "I mean, it's _possible_, isn't it? She was a fast swimmer, wasn't she?"

"Klaus, I hardly think it beneficial to think-" Violet didn't get to finish her sentence, as someone interrupted her.

"Violet!" Charles, the assistant manager at the mill, shouted across the room. The three children looked across the room at Charles; he was waving something that looked like a letter in his right hand and walking toward them.

"Yes, Charles?" Violet asked as he looked down at her.

"This message came for you in the mail."

"Abeebo," Sunny said, a term which here means "May I inquire as to who sent the letter?"

"I don't know who it's from," answered Charles, who had become quite adept at deciphering Sunny's various squawks and screeches. "There is not return address. It's just addressed to you three."

Violet took the letter from Charles' extended hand. She could feel the letter was a bit damp, as though it had been dipped in water before they'd received it. She put that thought aside and turned the blue envelope over, reassessing the address to make sure it was for them. When she realized it was, she quickly handed it to Klaus to open.

"Is it for us?" Klaus asked eagerly, hoping that perhaps it may be a note saying they were to be taken to a different and better place.

Violet nodded her head, and Klaus tore off the top of the envelope. A single piece of parchment fell out, holding a message written in the same blue ink as the on the envelope's front. Holding the letter up to his face, Klaus exchanged a quick glance with Violet and proceeded to read the letter.

"_Violet, Klaus, and Sunny_

_By the time you have read this letter, my life will have come to its end. Not from Count Olaf's attempt to dispose of me, but of my own account. I'm writing this letter so that you childrens will know that I felt excruciating guilt whilst writing that dreaded letter for Captain Sh-'_

Here, Klaus noted, Aunt Josephine had vehemently scratched out the term "Captain Sham," and replaced it with the following.

_Coount Olaf, and for giving him possession of you so willingly. The pain will haunt me forrever, even in death. In case you are wondering where I am while I am writing this, I will just say that I have washed upon the shorres where these tragic events that started in your life began. And even though I'm sure that you will never be able to forgive me, I ask your forgiveness anyway. However, even if you can't forgive me for what I've done, which will surely lead to yet another unfortunate event in your young lives, I want you to know that I love you all. I love you children more than I even loved Ike, and that is truly saying something. I love you so much. Please just know that when I'm dead, and can no longer tell you that meself. Please. That is my final wish, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Please know that I love you. Now, as this letter comes to an end, my life does as well, in the same fashion that my husband's did._

_Goodbye,_

_Your Aunt Josephine_

_P.S… Your parents wanted you to have this. Perhaps not from me, but I believe that it is time that you received it."_

Klaus felt tears welling in his eyes as he set the note aside. He looked at his two sisters, who were both crying, too. He felt a large pang of sadness make its way into his heart as he looked back at the envelope, which had a rather large lump in it. He took the envelope in his hands and reached inside of it, his fingers wrapping around something cold and hard. He looked at his sisters again before he pulled it out to see what it was.

It was a spyglass.

Klaus stared in awe down at the spyglass as he let it drop freely from his hands. It rolled off of his cushioned lap and onto the floor, coming to a rest as it rolled against Sunny's little foot. The toddler picked it up and handed it to Violet, who stared at it just as Klaus had.

"Aunt Josephine…" The three of them muttered under their breath. They all looked back at the spyglass before Klaus looked back at the letter. He read the letter over in his mind before reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulling out a red fountain pen.

"What are you doing?" Violet asked as Klaus began to make markings on the paper. He did not answer her though, only kept scribbling until he was finished. When he was done, he put the paper on the ground, five letters in the note circled in red ink.

Violet realized the message was coded like the fake suicide note Aunt Josephine had written after Count Olaf forced her. She scanned the letters carefully, looking for what was circled:

The 'S' in "childrens."

One of the 'O's in "Coount Olaf."

The second 'R' in "forever."

The extra 'R' in "shores."

A 'Y' was scratched on top of the 'E' in "meself.". Violet put all these letters together, and she felt her heart sink a bit when she did.

The five letters circled in red ink, when put together….

Spelled _"SORRY."_


End file.
